the spectacular, newly restored palace-turned-school in Lucknow
Inside La Martinière—
James McDonald
Murky Claude Martin’s morals may have been, but as this newly restored palace turned school proves, magnificent was his eye.
James McDonald
Originally, paintings by Zoffany hung in the entrance hall.
James McDonald
Prey and predator are kept apart by bombastic blue silk curtains.
James McDonald
In the Blue Room, crocheted antimacassars on the seat backs evoke faded gentility.
James McDonald
No one could quite agree on its style, with some calling it Indo-French Baroque and others Persian palace or Italian ornate.
James McDonald
Riotous arabesques and bas-relief figures dance across the walls.
James McDonald
A staircase decorated with original plasterwork leads down to the cellar where Claude Martin lies entombed.
James McDonald
A carved rood screen, gleamingly restored, leads to the master dining room. These elegant rooms were once the scenes of a bitter siege and occupation during the 1857 Uprising.